Ready, set, jump!
GenXs, Yard Mas, and Xodus hit the road on Carnival Sunday
Published:Sunday | April 7, 2024 | 11:49 AMKenrick Morgan/Gleaner Writer -
After much anticipation and an entire week of events, the day many soca and carnival fans across Jamaica and the diaspora have been waiting on has finally arrived – it’s Carnival Sunday and time for the annual Carnival in Jamaica Road March!
Road march day has long been praised for its culturally-rich history, and the abundance of opportunities revellers have for self-expression and freedom.
While on the other side of things, it usually gives carnival bands one last chance to leave lasting impressions, and stark reminders on what it means to ‘play mas’, especially in Jamaica.
As expected, the big three – GenXs, Yard Mas and Xodus/Bacchanal – extensively planned what today will look like for their customers and looked forward to having their dreams come to life.
In conversations with The Gleaner, each of the bands gave a glimpse into the pomp and pageantry unfolding across the streets of Kingston and St Andrew.
“The dragons will be unleashed when our 10 costume sections cross our Rum Stripe stage with Smirnoff and Johnny Walker viewing points. Not to mention, KFC has tasty surprises on the road and Sparkling CranWata special VIP and hydration experiences throughout our road march which spans over 8.5 km,” said Kino Johnson, a director of GenXs.
He and his team however will be facing some fierce competition from the Pierre Goubault-led Xodus Road March, who were confident they will have “more performances than any [other] band”.
“If I told you about the surprises, then they wouldn’t be surprises! But let me say that we will have…three road activations along our route. A much shorter slower route, as well with party zones where we stay and party for intervals,” Goubault added.
Not one to be outdone in the festivities, Yard Mas Carnival is rolling out a wide range of experiences for a more “premium” road march.
“The route [features] a breakfast starting point, lunch stop and dinner stop at an air-conditioned and comfortable location. Some elements of the route are different from last year but gives all masqueraders ease while parading through the streets of Kingston,” said Andrew Bellamy, the band’s managing director.
The Corporate Communications Unit of the Jamaica Constabulary Force on Thursday advised members of the public that several road closures will take effect across the corporate area at different times, beginning at 8:15 a.m. today. This means that the motoring public can expect delays or detours along roadways in and around New Kingston, Half-Way Tree, Liguanea, Hope Road, Knutsford Boulevard, Trafalgar Road, Waterloo Road, Eastwood Park Road, and East Kings House Road to facilitate the three carnival road marches.
Bands have made it clear they will be working closely with the JCF to ensure patrons are safe, and that the rules of the road and the march are followed, especially when it comes to stormers.
While each band has their own plans in place of how to handle people outside of their customers who attend the march, they all echoed similar sentiments of additional security, which includes more road marshals and hand-band monitoring.
One carnival band, GenXs, has gone as far to ask “non-accredited” jumpers to “enjoy the parade from the Rum Stripe, Smirnoff, Johnny Walker or CranWata viewing points”.